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Does anyone know if or how british aikido differs from other styles of aikido? How smooth of a transition would it be from this style to other styles if you were to change?

Reason for these questions is that I am an active duty military member and I move around every few years. I would like to know what other styles to look for when I move, so I don't have to start all over in training.

hopefully it doesn't differ that much, most dojos I've been to will happily accept your grade if you can prove you hold it. You may be asked to regrade if you've moved across styles (e.g. manic shodothug to the calm and rich aiki-fruitie land that is ki ) but otherwise I don't think you'd have a problem.

If you're at all worried about grade compatibility, you may want to ensure your grades are registered with a hombu in Japan rather than an independent association, you should be able to find various schools that have this affiliation.

"Does anyone know if or how British aikido differs from other styles of aikido?"

There isn't really a style of British aikido as there is so much variety on our little island (25+associations). Saying that Aikikai style here has been massively influenced by Chiba Sensei, renown for his uncompromising approach, weapons work and powerful technique. We tend to drink more than most other aiki countries I've visited

In my experience if you've trained in one of the man branches (e.g. Yoshinkan, Iwama, Ki, Shodokan)you wont find most other clubs around the world too different as long as YOU are prepared to adapt to their way of doing things. On a personal note, this is how I've also had to train due to lifestyle over the last few years and I don't recommend it as a way of improving your aikido (with a few specific exceptions).

"Does anyone know if or how British aikido differs from other styles of aikido?"

There isn't really a style of British aikido as there is so much variety on our little island (25+associations). Saying that Aikikai style here has been massively influenced by Chiba Sensei, renown for his uncompromising approach, weapons work and powerful technique. We tend to drink more than most other aiki countries I've visited

Stay safe,

Mark

Hello Mark,

Yes, I think many aikido Brits learned the last technique you mentioned from the Great Man himself, along with the weapons work etc. A fair number of the 25+organizations were created by his students or ex-students.